"Water Like A Stone" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

It wouldn’t be Christmas around here without a seasonal scenario by Tim Harford, but we’re trying something a bit different this year. Normally Tim gives me his notes and I lick them into shape so that it’s possible for someone else to run a game from them. Last December, though, there was a fly in the ointment.

As Tim put it, “This one was very skimpy on notes, even by my standards. I was in rebellion against our current D&D game, which has many good qualities, particularly the vividness of the NPCs, but which is overprepared and thus plays too much like a bravura performance from the GM, with not enough player agency. So I really wanted to push the other way and challenge myself to see how far I could get with minimal prep.”

Tim is also a very busy man, so he could hardly take time out to meticulously plot a six-hour roleplaying special just for one use with half a dozen friends. His notes in full were:

Tim adds: “Not much to go on I realise. There is an old scenario for Flashing Blades (‘The Grand Theatre’ in Parisian Adventures) which involves an actor who's also a spy who has stolen secret documents, and two teams of musketeers battling it out backstage. That was a direct inspiration for the Grand Theatre section, although in truth you really only need the premise, don't you? I also had in mind the image of Ferromaine's canals freezing under a supernatural cold, and the thought that a chase scene or a fight scene on ice would be a good challenge if the antagonists were equipped with skates. That's really it.”

That’s quite a challenge. My thinking for a scenario is that if you’re going to go in with a lot of plot elements then you need to work them out in advance, ideally to the extent of having a timeline of everything that would happen if the player-characters did nothing. You need to know those details (if they are going to be there at all) because the players will be trying to make them fit into a coherent picture.

For instance, imagine trying to play a murder mystery game in which all the clues were randomly generated independently of each other; it would be a complete waste of the players’ time because the clues couldn’t be assembled into any logical solution.

But once the game starts, everything can and should be improvised in response to what the players do – and that improvisation works because you had a clear idea of the NPCs and their actions and intentions to begin with. In short: plan your story as tightly as the writer of a novel or movie ought to, and then be perfectly happy to let that planned story disintegrate in response to the interpretations (correct or otherwise) and consequent actions of the player-characters.

Remember von Moltke’s advice: “No operational plan extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy force. Only the layman believes that in the course of a campaign he sees the consistent implementation of an original idea that has been conceived in advance, thought through in every detail, and retained to the end.”

All right, so how are we going to do this? I’ll kick off by describing how it played out in our last Christmas game.

Act One

(Yes, I hate all that Hollywood three-act guff, but we're going to need some structure to get through this bit.)

The characters are in the service of the Cotulio family of Ferromaine. Specifically they have lodgings at an orphanage run by the Abbess Emerentia, sister of Count Saltado Cutulio, who tells them to go and fetch a pine tree from the Drakken forests. Not just any pine tree, either. Rival families are contending to raise the Yule tree in the Piazza San Paolo. The tallest tree will be chosen. And off they go.

In the game as run we went upriver to a town in northern Kurland, so we must have been on the Arakose river. Another option would be to take the Liederkehn river, but that would involve passing through Tamor which the characters may prefer to avoid – and we might expect timber prices to be much higher in the New Selentine Empire. (If you opt for that, there's a possible tie-in to "The God in the Bowl" adventure, which also takes place in the New Selentine Empire.)

It’s also possible to set the whole adventure elsewhere. The characters could be hired in Brymstone to fetch a tree across the Mergeld Sea from Mercania. But let’s not make this any more complicated than we need to. Tim ran it as a Blades in the Dark heist game in Ferromaine; we’ll stick with that for now. 

The complication: when they reach the town of the timber merchants, it turns out the best two trees have already been sold to representatives of the Senfriti and Vassilvio families. The merchants say there is no hope of finding another tree taller or finer than either of those. The Senfriti barge has already set off the day before. The Vassilvio barge is loaded and ready to depart the next morning.

A couple of strange incidents occurred. First we noticed a white star or comet in the sky. White Light, often seen this close to Krarth? It seemed not, for this star shimmered in and out of vision. The other incident was the arrival of a mechanical bird, inside whose beak was a clay effigy of Parcelus Pike’s face (see below) telling us that he had a lucrative job for us if we would return at once to Ferromaine. But that meant abandoning the Yule tree errand so we declined.

The barges descend the river by means of locks that bypass the occasional rapids. At each lock there are customs officers – more organized if this is the New Selentine Empire, more lackadaisical in Kurland, both susceptible to bribery. Tim’s notes suggest the officials have already been bribed, so perhaps they will hold up the player-characters or demand excessive tolls to use the locks.

In our session we masqueraded as tax officials inspecting the locks. The obstacles you might consider would be that in Kurland those tollkeepers would be locally recruited under the jurisdiction of a local duke-elector and would know each other personally. Selentine officials would be identified by seals and documents (literacy being higher there) and the penalty for forging such seals or pretending to be an imperial officer is painful and brief. Directly targeting the other families’ barges, on the other hand, is mere affray and not of any great importance to either Kurlanders or Selentines.

The first “act” ended with the tallest (in fact sole remaining) tree being delivered to the Cotulio family and set up in St Paul’s Square.

Act Two

Oliver Trout is a clown whose fame has preceded him around the Coradian Sea. He’s now arrived in Ferromaine where he is booked to perform for five nights at the Grand Theatre. In our game the Abbess asked us to go to the Grand Theatre while the show is on and steal an object from Trout’s dressing-room: a wooden puzzle box.

Some of the player-characters also spoke to Parcelus Pike, a local sorcerer and curio collector, about stealing the puzzle box for him. He wasn’t interested, having already hired another team (we had disregarded his message conveyed by the mechanical bird in Act One), but left the matter open in case we should obtain the box instead of them.

We went to the theatre that night, all with the goal of stealing the box but not all with the same buyer in mind. We waited for the show to start and then sneaked backstage. The complication this time was that somebody got there first; Trout’s dressing-room had already been ransacked. The other team of thieves had not found the box, however. The player-characters did, and on the way out were ambushed by the other thieves, eight Chaubrettians who were no match under the favouritism of the Blades in the Dark rules for two murder hoboes – er, player-character fighters, rather.

The player-characters got away with the puzzle box and then cast lots to decide who should get it. The Abbess, our patron? Parcelus Pike, never very trustworthy but at least offering cash now that his other team were all dead? Or return it to Oliver Trout, whose performance most of us hadn’t even stayed to watch?

One of us (my character, Arnaud -- aka Flambeau, le Stégologue de Vyônes) objected to the way one of the murder hoboes had bullied the others during the vote, so hid the puzzle box in the mouth of a gargoyle on the roof of the church overlooking St Paul’s Square.

All through this, the white star/comet continued to grow larger in the night sky. At the same time it was growing unseasonably cold in Ferromaine. There were even some flakes of snow.

Act Three

The snow is falling steadily now, piling up in drifts around the city. Few citizens of the Ferromaine League remember living through a blizzard like this. Is it "an elfin-storm from faery land"? The player-characters may think so. Most people huddle inside by the fire.

It gets colder. Much colder. Through the driving snow a single light shines in the night sky: the strange star, bathing the whole city in an icy white radiance.

The snow stops. The star descends and settles on the top of the Yule tree. A creaking sound is heard, a little like the soft skittering of hordes of insects. It’s the unprecedented noise of the city’s canals freezing over.

Seven white-clad hooded figures are seen skating towards St Paul’s Square.

In our game, the player-characters climbing up to retrieve the puzzle box were beset by scuttling sprites with bodies of ice. On the ground, the seven hooded skaters arrived at the square, along with a tall white-clad woman who emanated waves of freezing cold that our murder hoboes were hard pressed to deal with – though they managed, of course, this being Blades in the Dark rules, and when they slew the Frost Witch she turned into flakes of ice.

One of the player-characters, a psoriatic pilgrim named Dropskin, ignited the tree with the aid of a flaming torch and fervent prayer. It was consumed in roaring orange flames accompanied by the sharp tarry tang of burning pine needles.

Meanwhile Oliver Trout ambled into the square and cheerfully received the puzzle box back from Flambeau. With a few deft twists he converted it into a stellated polyhedron which drew all of the snow and ice (including the sprites and the hooded figures) into itself, banishing the unnatural winter and restoring the city to normal.

Assumptions

After the game I told Tim my interpretations of these events:

(1) That the Frost Witch came in the white star/comet from Krarth and would have plunged Ferromaine into an eternal winter.

Tim said: “That's much better than what I had, which was that she was a supernatural antagonist who wanted the puzzle box for reasons unknown.”

(2) That Oliver Trout was a wizard or mythic being who opposed her and his puzzle box gave him some means to counter her ice magic.

Tim said: “Oliver Trout is a Santa Claus-like figure, of course – an avuncular spirit of all that is jolly and numinous about the bleak midwinter. Thank goodness I watched an episode of The Box of Delights the evening before the game.”

(3) That the white skaters on the frozen canal were her emissaries and their job was to kill Oliver Trout before he could stop her.

Tim said: “They were her emissaries. I had in mind that they would steal the box and there would be a chase scene along the grand canal. But you didn't stash the box where I expected and it became a set-piece confrontation rather than a chase.”

Here’s what ChatGPT thought:

Assumption 1: The Frost Witch and the Comet

Your Assumption: The Frost Witch came in the white star/comet from Krarth and would have plunged Ferromaine into eternal winter.

Refinement: The comet could be more than just her mode of travel—it might be her prison. Long ago, a cosmic force (perhaps linked to Oliver Trout or the city itself) sealed her in the icy heart of the comet. The comet's proximity to Ferromaine was drawn by the Yule tree ritual, corrupted by the rival families’ selfish motives. This not only makes her arrival more meaningful but also ties her deeply to the scenario's events.

She might not want to destroy Ferromaine outright but instead transform it into her icy domain, drawing its magic and culture into her eternal kingdom. This makes her a more nuanced antagonist with a vision, albeit a chilling one.

Assumption 2: Oliver Trout as the Frost Witch’s Opponent

Your Assumption: Oliver Trout was a wizard or mythic being whose puzzle box allowed him to counter the Frost Witch's ice magic.

Refinement: Oliver Trout is perfect as a mythic "spirit of midwinter," embodying the warmth and hope needed to survive the harsh season. Rather than being solely a wizard, he could be an ancient protector whose jovial demeanour hides immense power. The puzzle box could symbolize the delicate balance of winter—it holds the key to containing the Frost Witch but must be wielded with wisdom and care. To deepen their rivalry, Trout might have been the one who originally imprisoned her. She now seeks both vengeance and the box, which could free her fully. This personal connection raises the stakes of their confrontation.

Oliver Trout might not be omnipotent. His reliance on humour and goodwill could mean his power wanes in the face of despair. This would explain why he leaves the puzzle box unattended—he can’t directly confront the Frost Witch without gathering enough "light-hearted energy," which is why he was performing on stage at the Grand Theatre – but the wintry weather meant smaller audiences, making the PCs’ intervention crucial.

Assumption 3: The White Skaters and Their Mission

Your Assumption: The white skaters were emissaries of the Frost Witch sent to kill Oliver Trout before he could stop her.

Refinement: Rather than simply assassins, the skaters could have a dual purpose: to retrieve the puzzle box and prevent Trout from using it, as well as to sow terror and chaos in the city. They might represent different facets of the Frost Witch’s will (eg, cold precision, relentless pursuit, and icy despair), making them thematic extensions of her power. The skaters could be former residents of other cities she has conquered, now turned into icy thralls. This twist would highlight the stakes for Ferromaine—failure means the citizens could share the same fate.

The puzzle box could be tied to the very nature of winter—when solved correctly, it harmonizes the forces of cold and warmth, sealing the Frost Witch while allowing winter to remain balanced. Solved incorrectly, it could unleash an eternal winter or destroy Trout's protective powers, adding a moral or tactical dilemma for the PCs.

Explanations

These were the things I still wasn’t sure about after the game. What was actually going on? Players are going to ferret away at the details looking for an advantage, so you’ll want the answers at the ready even if they’re never needed.

What was it that invited the Frost Witch into Ferromaine? (The tree in some way, perhaps?)

Tim answered: “My initial premise was merely that the Frost Witch wanted the puzzle box, but in truth that's a fairly flimsy idea – and almost immediately came the idea (Christmassy, but also ominous) that she had a celestial body that steadily approached as the adventure progressed.”

ChatGPT suggested: “The Yule tree seems a strong candidate. It could serve as a mystical beacon tied to ancient traditions, perhaps imbued with ceremonial significance that inadvertently opened a pathway for the Frost Witch when it was raised in St. Paul’s Square. Maybe Ferromaine’s people used to perform protective rituals tied to the tree, but these have been forgotten in recent years. Alternatively, the comet/star might have been drawn to the competitive, somewhat self-serving motives of the rival families vying for the tallest tree, allowing the Frost Witch to exploit this discord.”

Why was Oliver Trout performing at the theatre?

Tim said: “I love these questions but I have no answers to any of the rest of them – the perils of the improvised game. Any answers you can dream up will be better than anything I had.”

ChatGPT’s answer: “Oliver Trout’s performance could have been part of a larger plan to mask his true purpose in the city. He might have been drawn to Ferromaine because he sensed the Frost Witch’s growing presence, and the show was an excuse to stay nearby without arousing suspicion. Alternatively, the theatre could hold symbolic power, such as being a historic cultural heart of the city where his magic would be stronger. Or see above, the idea that his performances at the theatre were parts of a magical ritual intended to build up a ‘charge’ of good-natured warmth to counter the winter spell."

Why did Trout leave the box unguarded?

ChatGPT: “Oliver Trout likely underestimated the Frost Witch’s influence—or overestimated the secrecy of the box’s location. He might have thought his jovial reputation or distractions like the theatre performance would deter any would-be thieves. Another possibility: he intended the box to act as bait, drawing her agents into a trap. It would also add tension if he intended for the PCs to become involved but misjudged their chaotic methods.”

What would have happened if the characters had failed to act? (The white skaters would have killed Trout?)

ChatGPT: “If the PCs failed, the white skaters might have killed Oliver Trout or captured the puzzle box, allowing the Frost Witch to solidify her hold on Ferromaine. This could mean the city plunging into eternal winter, its citizens slowly frozen into lifeless statues as her icy dominion spread across the region. The PCs' intervention was likely the only thing standing between the city and its doom, adding weight to their actions.”

Would burning the tree have had any effect once the frost had already taken hold of the city?

ChatGPT: “Burning the tree could have served as a powerful symbolic or magical act, disrupting the Frost Witch’s anchor in Ferromaine. If the tree was the conduit for her power, destroying it could sever her connection and weaken her ice magic. However, the tree might also act as a focal point for Oliver Trout’s magic, meaning its destruction could have been a desperate gamble—potentially undermining his efforts to banish her unless done at the right moment. This ambiguity could leave the PCs wondering if they helped or hindered.”

Time for the robots to take over

ChatGPT was doing sterling work, so I thought I should let it off the leash. How would it have improved on the scenario? This is what it said: 

1. Tie the Frost Witch to the Yule Tree More Strongly 

The Yule tree could be central to her power. Perhaps it is the "World Tree" in miniature, a mystical link between realms, and raising it without proper rites allowed her to invade. The rival families’ selfish competition could amplify the magical imbalance. You could use the apples and wafers used to decorate the base of the tree to symbolize temptation, sin and redemption. The Frost Witch might need the tree to fully merge her icy domain with Ferromaine, giving the PCs a clear reason to stop her.

2. Oliver Trout’s Purpose 

Oliver Trout can have a more defined backstory. He might be an ancient protector, akin to a winter guardian or even a rival to the Frost Witch in a cosmic balance between light and cold. His performances could be a way to gather joy and goodwill—essential to his magic—and the puzzle box might store that energy, which he intends to use against her.

3. The Puzzle Box’s Role 

The puzzle box could act as both a key and a trap. It might be the only thing capable of sealing the Frost Witch away but is equally coveted by her because it could seal Oliver Trout’s power if twisted incorrectly. This would give the PCs a tough moral choice, especially if factions try to sway them. 

4. Escalate Tension With a Chase Scene 

Instead of a static confrontation, you could add a thrilling chase along the frozen canals [I'm pretty sure it got that idea from Tim's notes. - DM] as the white-clad emissaries pursue the PCs, trying to retrieve the puzzle box. Ice sprites could create hazards, and Oliver Trout might aid from afar, giving cryptic advice. 

5. Make the Burning Tree a Gamble 

Destroying the tree could weaken the Frost Witch but at a high cost, such as damaging the city’s spiritual defenses for years to come. Alternatively, the PCs might need to perform a complex ritual at the tree to channel its power against her, adding urgency to their decisions.

And how about some stats? This is ChatGPT’s response, using D&D rather than Blades in the Dark. I haven’t played enough D&D 5e (just one session) to know if any of this makes any sense, but it looks creative and it kept spelling "fay" wrong, which is probably a D&D mistake as ChatGPT is usually right about things like that. 

D&D 5e Stats Suggestions

The Frost Witch

• CR: 10 
• Type: Medium Fay (or Elemental) 
• Abilities: 
• Legendary Actions: Use Cone of Cold, summon ice sprites, or freeze enemies in place. 
• Lair Actions: Intensify cold damage in her lair (e.g., the area around the tree), create difficult terrain with ice, or summon blizzards.
• Unique Ability: Shatterstar Descend – Once per day, create an icy storm that deals 6d10 cold damage in a 60-ft radius and reduces visibility to 10 feet. 
• Defences: High AC (18) from icy armour, resistances to nonmagical bludgeoning/piercing/slashing, immunity to cold.

White-Clad Emissaries

• CR: 4
• Type: Medium Humanoids (Icebound Knights)
• Abilities:
• Frostbite Blade – Melee weapon attacks deal 2d6 cold damage. 
• Glide on Ice – Move effortlessly over difficult icy terrain. 
• Aura of Chill – Enemies within 10 feet take 1d6 cold damage at the start of their turn.

Ice Sprites

• CR: 1/2
• Type: Tiny Elementals
• Abilities:
• Freezing Touch – Touch attack deals 1d6 cold damage and reduces movement speed. 
• Frosty Mischief – Use actions to create minor hazards (slick ice, frosty fog).

Oliver Trout 

• CR: 7 
• Type: Medium Humanoid (Mythic) 
• Abilities: 
• Puzzle Box Mastery – As an action, manipulate the puzzle box to unleash bursts of radiant light (6d6 damage to undead/fay). 
• Aura of Merriment – Allies within 30 feet gain advantage on saving throws against fear and charm. 
• Spellcasting: Casts Wall of Force, Greater Restoration, and Daylight as innate abilities.

Incidentally, I do hope "Frosty Mischief" is a real D&D ability. Finally, ChatGPT had some ideas about how to integrate all this into Legend's medieval setting where the real force is religion, not D&D-style fantasy:

1. The Yule Tree as the “Tree of Paradise”

The Yule tree in St. Paul’s Square could explicitly represent the "tree of paradise," decorated with symbols of humanity’s fall (apples) and redemption (buns standing in for eucharist wafers). These decorations might play a magical role in the story, either as a defence against the Frost Witch or as something she seeks to corrupt.

The apples could represent temptation, tying into the rivalry among Ferromaine's families. Perhaps the tree is adorned with gilded apples to symbolize the city’s prosperity, which the Frost Witch views as a hubristic affront to her dominion over winter. She might aim to corrupt the apples into frozen fruit that spreads despair or frostbite to those who touch them.

The white wafers could become a mystical ward against her influence. If the PCs retrieve the puzzle box and return it to the tree, the wafers might glow, symbolizing humanity's capacity for redemption and banishing her icy hold.

2. The Frost Witch as a “Tempter”

The Frost Witch could serve as a supernatural force akin to the serpent in Eden, embodying temptation and humanity's darker impulses. Her emissaries might offer subtle deals or promises to the PCs and city officials: wealth, power, or eternal life in exchange for cooperation. She might try to claim that eternal winter represents purity and perfection, twisting the tree’s symbolism of paradise into her own vision of a frozen utopia.

3. The Puzzle Box as the Fruit of Knowledge

The puzzle box could represent the forbidden fruit, a mystical object that must be handled with care to prevent disaster. Just as Adam and Eve’s choice brought consequences, solving the puzzle box could trigger a significant moral choice for the PCs:

• Correct Solution: Harmonizes the balance of winter and seals the Frost Witch.
• Incorrect Solution: Unleashes eternal winter or destroys Oliver Trout’s ability to fight her.

This creates tension as the PCs grapple with whether they can (or should) wield such power.

4. The Role of the Nobles and Clergy

The Cotulio and rival families could reflect the pride and materialism that the Frost Witch exploits. Of course Abbess Emerentia’s and Count Saltado's loyalty is to themselves and their family, but lower ranks in the Church might represent humanity’s spiritual side, trying to remind the city of the tree’s true symbolic meaning and rallying the PCs to act with virtue.

The clergy might have an old ritual involving the tree of paradise. If forgotten or corrupted, this might explain why Ferromaine was vulnerable to the Frost Witch’s influence. The PCs could discover fragments of this ritual, such as chants or blessings, that must be restored to banish her. However, this would work better in a northern setting as it’s unlikely that Ferromaine would have ever had any problems with winter magic in the past.

5. The Frozen “Garden of Eden”

When the Frost Witch descends, her icy magic could transform the city into a twisted, frozen garden—a parody of Eden. The canals might become shimmering paths of ice, trees could bear crystalline, inedible fruit, and the citizens might begin to freeze into statues.

The characters could face a challenge to “restore” the true paradise by reigniting the Yule tree’s warmth through symbolic acts of kindness or sacrifice.

6. A Winter Solstice Play

Integrate a play into the Grand Theatre performance that reenacts the Fall and Redemption story, echoing the medieval mystery plays. Oliver Trout might be secretly manipulating events to parallel the play’s themes with the PCs’ struggle, subtly guiding them toward the right choices.

Sources that I suspect influenced Tim and that may be useful are The Box of Delights and The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. TV/movie versions here for those in a hurry. The old Santa-like character from The Box of Delights was apparently based on Ramon Llull, but I have only Wikipedia's word for that.

If you play the adventure, do let us know in the comments how you got on. I will just add that Tim's gaming group use Blades in the Dark, which casts every adventure in the form of a heist. Perhaps your heart sinks at the thought of heist games, or indeed any preset story-pattern in roleplaying, in which case you would normally get wholehearted agreement from me, but Christmas gaming makes its own rules. After a couple of mince pies I just sat back and went with the rompy flow.

"A Garland of Holly" (A Yuletide adventure set in Legend)

Yep, two Christmas scenarios this year. We already had Tim Harford's "The Malletta Caper" and here's a quieter and more cerebral adventure by me. This originally appeared a couple of years ago on my Jewelspider Patreon page. It's a sketchier affair than Tim's, with the expectation that the referee will shape the details to fit the campaign. Here we have a mixture of the pagan nature of magic in the Jewelspider world with the folk horror that infuses a lot of Legend scenarios. Grey heads will not fail to notice also the nod to The Avengers episode "A Surfeit of H2O", the opening scene of which blew me away when I saw it aged 8.

The honeymoon is over...

Theodor of Utherwick (29 years old, medium height, solid and dependable) should be a gentleman untroubled by cares. He has recently wed and set up a house in Cantorbridge with his young wife Epiphany (15 years old, willowy, pale, a little dreamy). He is respected for his bravery in battle, and sought after for advice because of his sober and thoughtful manner. He has prosperous interests and is lord of several manors – including, now, the village of Burstow, where Epiphany grew up.

Yet Theodor is far from being at ease. Two of his friends have died unexpectedly and suddenly. A third has become so nervous that he has shut himself away and refuses to see visitors.

How might the player-characters come into the picture? They could be relatives or friends of somebody involved. One or more of them could even be witnesses to Theodor’s and Epiphany’s wedding, which would bring the threat close to home, as we shall see.

Theodor’s story

The characters meet Theodor at his house in Cantorbridge. It is a crisp day with light, powdery snow falling to skitter in the wind across the flagstones of front path. Beyond, golden and limpid in the clear cold air, the cathedral stands above the rooftops like the ramparts of heaven.

Theodor welcomes them into a hall made snug by thick drapes and a crackling fire. ‘We always have a log from my wife’s home,’ he says, prompting a shy smile from her as she sits a little way off working at her embroidery. ‘The scent of home.’

He fills them in on what’s happened: ‘Clifford of Durnover was the first. He jumped off the parapet of his castle. They say he’d eaten bad mushrooms and they sent him mad. But not long after, Reynaud Longarm was drowned.’

‘Unfortunate. Was he a strong swimmer?’

‘He was found in the middle of a field. Stinking pools of stagnant water all around him, but this was half a mile from the nearest river.’

‘Even so, two deaths… a sad coincidence?’

‘These were found in their mouths.’ Theodor brings out a cloth and unwraps it to reveal two large husks, seed pods about the size of an apricot pit.

‘And you mentioned a third friend?’

‘A neighbour, rather. Caspar the dyer. He’s shut himself up and won’t see anyone. He gave us the covers on those chairs as a wedding present.’

‘Generous.’

‘I’m a good customer. And he was a witness at our wedding, as were the other two, so I suppose he thought a gift was in order.’

Epiphany

Epiphany sits quietly sewing throughout all this. She is a good wife by the standards of her society, where the ideal of womanhood is the Saviour’s mother: gentle, kind, modest, meek and mild.

She would not expect to be directly questioned by any of the characters, and if they do then she defers to her husband to answer. No male character will get anything more than polite remarks out of her. For anything deeper she’d have to be interviewed by a female character in private, or possibly by an elderly man or a priest who could serve as confessor. Alternatively the characters might try questioning her maidservant Joanna – but not her old governess, Sister Shila (50 years old, tough as boiled leather) who most certainly will never betray the family’s confidence.

Therefore teasing out all the details may take some care and patience.

Life stories

Epiphany was raised in the manor hall of Burstow, a village nestled into a fold in the Cullen Woods about twenty leagues north of Cantorbridge. Theodor was her mother’s cousin, and the family betrothed her to him eight years ago, when she was seven and he was twenty-one and just about to set out to Outremer.

A year later her father died in a shipwreck and her mother became deranged and had to be committed to a religious community. Her stern governess, Sister Shila, was left to bring up Epiphany until Theodor, who was also now legally her guardian, could come to fetch her.

Theodor found that Epiphany, not unreasonably, had grown up a withdrawn and otherworldly girl. With no companions except her dog, Burl, she had taken to solitary walks and long periods gazing at the books she found in an old chest in her parents’ room. With no education she had barely been able to figure out what any of the books said, but she occasionally showed pages to the local parson and in any case she enjoyed looking at the pictures.

Reasoning that his bride had to be brought back to reality by putting aside childish things, Theodor gathered up all the books and threw them out. In fact, he gave them to the priest, Father Lucian, who officiated at the wedding.

The wedding ceremony took place in Theodor’s private chapel in Cantorbridge in the presence of the old priest Lucian and four witnesses: Clifford (deceased), Reynaud (deceased), Caspar, and Theodor’s comrade in arms and best man, Kendrick of Heligston.

Secrets

Shortly after her father’s death, Epiphany came across an ancient weathered stone idol in the woods. It was nestled in a tree that had grown around it, so that the leaf-crowned countenance seemed to peer from another world. Perhaps connecting it with stories she’d half understood from scripture lessons, Epiphany thought the diadem of leaves (in fact mistletoe) on the idol’s brow was a crown of thorns and so identified it as the Saviour. She pieced together a prayer that she found in one of the books – a genuine prayer, but when recited in front of a pagan god it could equally be taken as an expression of fealty to older ways. For a while she left offerings in front of the idol, small tokens but yet enough to pierce ten centuries of stony sleep.

Years later, trying to hold onto her books when Theodor and Shila gathered them to sling out, Epiphany tore out that page by accident. She had long forgotten the idol in the woods but now was reminded of it and spoke the prayer again, this time with the force of urgent emotion, and the Wildwood Lord woke. Epiphany’s fervent prayer then was not to wed. She pledged herself instead to her ‘angel in the tree’, supposing that to be akin to the way she had been told her mother was now a bride of the Saviour.

But the passions of youth are squalls that can blow as mightily in one direction as another, and arranged marriages that start out in dudgeon or dismay can alter course towards more sympathetic feelings. Adjusting to Theodor’s presence in her life, and aware that marriage to him was her parents’ dearest wish, Epiphany came to accept the union. Perhaps in time she will even come to be glad of it. She soon forgot her prayer to the ‘angel in the tree’. But in the depths of the wood, a nature god stirred from slumber did not forget.

The Wildwood Lord considers that Epiphany has sworn herself to him. He will do away with Epiphany’s current husband and then claim her as his own. But as Epiphany has vowed before witnesses to ‘honour and obey ‘Theodor and ‘cherish and support’ him, and that conflicting vow has the force of the True Faith behind it, by the relentless logic of faerie the Wildwood Lord must first kill all those witnesses in order to free her of any other allegiance.

Clues

As mentioned above, a lone female character or a confessor could get a private interview with Epiphany and learn some of the above from her. It might be tempting to make Epiphany confident, brilliant and liberated and Theodor a bullying misogynist dolt, which is certainly what a modern 'romantasy' writer would do, but in the context of Legend's society that is neither interesting nor credible. Epiphany is fifteen. She has led a sheltered life. She has had access to books but insofar as she has any education she is largely self-taught. She agrees with the general principle that a wife should be dutiful and obedient because that’s what the Church drums into everybody.

That said, having been left to run wild for the last seven years she can be headstrong and moody, though she feels that’s wrong and she is trying to adjust to married life. No doubt her feelings towards Theodor are conflicted.

Getting Epiphany to talk about her life in Burstow should be difficult at first, but she’s artless and once she starts opening up it becomes easier. Even so, her prayer to the nature god is personal. At times she thinks it’s a sacred trust, at others a juvenile foolishness, so she is unlikely to blurt it out to a stranger. But with careful questioning she may very hesitantly confess to having half-woken in the night to see her ‘green angel’ at the foot of her bed after each killing.

The characters will also want to talk to other witnesses.

The dyer

Caspar the dyer is frightened. He was returning to town at dusk a few days ago and saw what he thought was a figure waiting near a stile. As he drew closer he realized it was a small tree covered with ivy, making it look like a person standing by the lane. But as he passed he felt a blow to the side of his head, cutting his cheek though no one was there. The next day he found green tendrils growing from under the bandage he’d applied, and now half his face is covered with ivy whose roots are deep in his flesh.

Caspar has been in seclusion for days now, praying constantly. He won’t admit his servant to his room, but sent him out to procure holy water from the cathedral. The servant is ‘Joseph’ (originally called Mahad), a Harogarnian who was liberated (if you can call it that) from Ta’ashim slavery into indentured servitude and brought back to Ellesland ten years ago. Figuring that his foreign appearance makes it risky to try filching holy water from the font, he actually brought back a bottle of river water that Caspar has been sprinkling on his foliage-covered face each day to no avail.

Unless the characters can resolve things very quickly, Caspar will be found dead in a couple of days when the plant tendrils reach his brain. The body is found with another of the seed pods in its mouth.

The priest

While talking to Father Lucian the characters will notice he lip-reads because he’s gone deaf in his old age. If they press the point he will admit that he never heard Epiphany’s vows as he was looking down at the order of service. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ he hastens to say. ‘The service is a sacrament, of course, but it is just as binding without the involvement of the clergy. I simply officiated as an old friend of both families.’

The important point is that he is not a witness to Epiphany’s vow to honour and obey her husband, and so is not one of the Wildwood Lord’s intended victims. He has therefore not been plagued by visitations such as Caspar experienced. (Or is it because he's a holy man? We will never know.)

Lucian could also be drawn into a discussion of the legality of the marriage. He discussed with Theodor a possible wrinkle in the arrangement, namely that Epiphany had not started menstruating when promised to Theodor, so arguably their betrothal eight years ago didn’t count as formally binding. Still, it was her parents’ wish, which counts in other courts than that of law, and she was seven years old which counts as the ‘age of reasonable consent’ to betrothal.

The characters may intuit from this that Theodor was uncertain whether he should wed Epiphany or not, hence his discussion with Father Lucian beforehand and his request to have Lucian at the ceremony.

The torn leaf

If they ask to see the books that Theodor gave Lucian, the characters may notice that a page has been roughly torn out of one. Part of an image remains that showed the Saviour nailed to a tree, the page bordered with a decorative motif of leaves and branches. Inspecting the rest of the book, a scholar would recognize that it consists of prayers and apocrypha with a noticeably naturistic theme – not a heathen text, but one that could be read as heathen by an impressionable or untutored mind.

The best man

Kendrick of Heligston has been at his manor house and has only just received Theodor’s letter about the deaths. He is not especially given to fancies and so doesn’t believe he’s on a list of doomed souls.

The seeds

If planted in soil, the seed pods found in the victims’ mouths sprout grey-green leaves that if worn as a garland will give some defence against the Wildwood Lord’s power.

The bride has flown

After Caspar’s death, Epiphany runs away. It doesn’t take long to find out that she’s headed back home to Burstow. Sister Shila has left a note, having set off after her. Perhaps, having changed her mind now about marriage to Theodor, Epiphany has gone looking for the torn page with the prayer written on it with some notion of taking back what she wished for. Or maybe she thinks that by offering herself to the ‘angel in the tree’ (which she must surely realize by now is not the gentle and forgiving Saviour of the True Faith) she can stop the deaths.

So the wife is drawn home to her family’s country house and the husband follows – and the characters too. And the stage is set for the final act.

Yuletide in Burstow

Theodor is learning patience. Rather than dragging Epiphany back to town, he indulges her to the extent of proposing they spend Yule at Burstow Manor. He is still very far from linking his wife to the deaths, and he thinks that spending the holidays in her childhood home may help her to adjust more readily to married life.

The villagers are happy to see their young mistress back home. She has always been an aloof figure but her parents were popular and their orphaned daughter was always an object of pity to the locals. In keeping with tradition, and to Epiphany’s delight and Theodor’s indulgent amusement, the manor hall is decorated with a garland of flowers, dried throughout the year and now woven into a long wreath that encircles the beams.

Theodor sets about throwing himself into village life, supposing that is what his wife wants. He joins in a rough-and-tumble hurling match and is injured – not seriously, but Epiphany is alarmed and rushes to his side, insisting on binding up the cut herself. The characters cannot fail to see that after the rocky start to the marriage the two of them are drawing together.

A few days before Saviour’s Day it snows. The night sky is flooded with stars. Magic is on the air in at least two flavours: pagan and dark, and that even older magic of romantic love. But the latter is a fragile spell, still in the early stages of casting. Epiphany is moody, Theodor serious and still half inclined to treat her as a child. Their future would be uncertain enough even without a nature god of olden times bringing a curse down upon them.

Kendrick arrives, having sought Theodor in town. As the roads are now thick with snow, he remains as their guest for the festivities.

The prayer

‘O lord of the living world, I beseech thee, save me from the malice of those who hate me so that their wickedness gives them no power over me and they may not use me for their ends. Guide my steps that I may walk without offending thee. Free me from the hands of my enemies, visible and invisible, above and below, and bring me into thy company, that I may serve thee evermore in body and soul. Enfold me in the arms of thy love.’

The semi-literate Epiphany has garbled this, but the core sentiment of pledging herself to the Lord she was addressing remains.

The characters

How will they find out the key info in the third act, in particular the reveal that the Wildwood Lord is going to end all this by taking Epiphany's life too, once he has freed of her of her vows to another? One way is by talking to a scholar with magical knowledge (that could even be the old nurse) or, if one of player-characters is a sorcerer, by coming across a reference in his/her own books. And of course they might come across the torn page.

The key pieces of information:

• The prayer offers the speaker body and soul to the Lord. 
• When the witnesses and Theodor are all dead, there is no rival claim upon Epiphany except for her pledge to ‘the angel in the tree’. 
• The idol is in the cleft of a tree in the woods. 
• The seed pods can be used to give limited protection against the pagan god’s minions. 
• Destroying the idol or getting Epiphany to reject her ‘green angel’ will both serve to break the Wildwood Lord’s claim over her. 

Burstow has a mischief night tradition which has servants ruling masters and wives ruling husbands. If Theodor can be persuaded to go along with the game, that provides a key to breaking the fate that the prayer has cursed them with, rather as Gawain broke the Loathly Lady’s curse by granting that she should have her own way.

The Green Man

His appearance: skin pale and greenish-yellow like stripped bark, a holly crown bleeding sap. (This needn’t involve a physical manifestation to the player-characters themselves, it could be Epiphany’s description from her dreams or a victim’s dying account.)

The characters cannot harm the Wildwood Lord himself, though they could destroy any creatures ('ympes') he sends to kill witnesses to the wedding vows. The ympes look like the skeletons of small woodland creatures held together with knotted creepers, and furred or feathered with wet dead leaves. The characters’ best bet is to resist his power long enough to find and destroy the idol or get the wife to abjure him, either of which casts him out for good.

How would they find the idol? For example, they might take Epiphany’s old dog for a walk in the woods and it leads them close to where the idol is, though they will still have to poke around a bit. Destroying the idol will banish the Wildwood Lord from this area.

Of course, it can’t be that easy. Breaking the idol begins to close the Wildwood Lord’s gateway into the present mortal realm, but he doesn’t go quietly or easily. On Yule eve, the garland begins to stir, animating into a furious thrashing serpentine form made up of flower petals, vines and twigs. If your players’ taste inclines towards the old school climactic fight, this last gasp of the Wildwood Lord will give them quite a struggle. Its aim is to slay the remaining witnesses, including Theodor, and then encircle Epiphany and draw her up the chimney (a grotesque reversal of Santa bringing presents, the players may think). If it gets to that then she’s lost, and will be found pale and cold the next day, hanging dead in a tree with mistletoe and holly binding her to the trunk. The characters could fight smart if they notice the flowers and creepers become fresh; they have only to lure the garland outside into the snow and the cold will weaken it.

But a combat might seem crass. Even so, simply to have the Wildwood Lord go without any fuss or fury is a bit of a damp squib. Rather than having the garland murderously animate, his face could manifest in it, making a last demand on Epiphany’s loyalty. It’s still a climactic battle, but now the field on which the battle is fought is the young woman’s soul, and the characters must muster arguments to keep her from giving herself to the ancient nature spirit.

If the characters fail

First all the witnesses will die, then Theodor, and finally the Wildwood Lord will come to claim Epiphany as his virgin queen of winter, dying as the year must die to make way for rebirth in the spring.

If they prevail

Quite possibly the Wildwood Lord if thwarted will exact some last vengeance. Perhaps his animated garland sets the manor house on fire; pagan gods never go quietly and are often petty. But as Epiphany watches her family home burn, shivering in the snow, her husband puts his cloak around her shoulders. The characters spend the rest of the Yule season down in the village, where Theodor and Epiphany are welcomed as guests. Out of the shared strong emotion and life-changing experiences they can grow closer together and – who knows –end up as a genuinely loving couple. It’s Christmas; even in Legend we can occasionally hint at a happy ending.

The Coronet

by Andrew Marvell 

When for the thorns with which I long, too long,
With many a piercing wound,
My Saviour’s head have crowned,
I seek with garlands to redress that wrong:
Through every garden, every mead,
I gather flowers (my fruits are only flowers),
Dismantling all the fragrant towers
That once adorned my shepherdess’s head.
And now when I have summed up all my store,
Thinking (so I myself deceive)
So rich a chaplet thence to weave
As never yet the King of Glory wore:
Alas, I find the serpent old
That, twining in his speckled breast,
About the flowers disguised does fold,
With wreaths of fame and interest.
Ah, foolish man, that wouldst debase with them,
And mortal glory, Heaven’s diadem!
But Thou who only couldst the serpent tame,
Either his slippery knots at once untie;
And disentangle all his winding snare;
Or shatter too with him my curious frame,
And let these wither, so that he may die,
Though set with skill and chosen out with care:
That they, while Thou on both their spoils dost tread,
May crown thy feet, that could not crown thy head.

Green Man images above by Llywelyn2000 (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Disdero (CC BY-SA 4.0) respectively.

"The Malletta Caper" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)

For the players

You are a charismatic gang of rogues, notorious all around the Coradian sea for your daring exploits – or so you like to tell yourselves. You’ve been hired by a representative of a certain Parcelus Pike, a merchant and collector of strange antiquities, usually based in the great city of Ferromaine.

Pike, however, has arranged to meet you at the small island of Malletta, long the regional base of the order of the Knights Protector. Malletta has been a vital defensive outpost against the incursions of corsairs and the occasional Ta’ashim expeditionary force. It is heavily fortified, boasts a grand cathedral and what is thought to be the world’s largest hospital – but the dusty city of Malletta has also seen more prosperous days. It is an unusual place to be deploying your distinctive gifts, but Pike has a reputation for paying well.

The Knights Protector

To give them their full name, the Order of Knights of the Sanctuary of St Zachariah. They began as a monastic order devoted to the shelter of the sick, poor and injured, then acquiring a more active role escorting and defending pilgrims to holy sites. They administer the island of Malletta as a vassal state of Algandy. The official language of the island is Bacchile, though around the docks you’ll more commonly hear lingua Coradia. The flag of the order is a white triangle on a red field, said to represent the opening of a tent, and the knights’ tabards follow the same design.

Meeting Parcelus Pike

Pike has paid for the characters to travel by ship from Ferromaine (or elsewhere) to meet him in Malletta. Upon arrival at the docks, the sights, sounds and smells of the city fill the senses: the screeching of the gulls, the shouts of market hawkers, the bustle of porters and dock workers carrying produce, the smell of spiced meats, fresh fish, and the ripe sewers of the town.

One sight stands out in contrast against the dynamic backdrop of the docks: a small figure sits motionless on a stanchion, gazing out at the ship carrying the characters. As the gangplank is lowered and they disembark, the figure – dressed in bright silks and a beret – stiffly stands and walks towards them. Although he appears to be a human male, there is something uncanny about his overly smooth and mannered movements; he wears thick makeup and will not give a name, introducing himself only as the servant of Parcelus Pike.

Should the characters follow the figure as invited – or, perhaps, refuse and then shadow him through the city streets – they will be shown to a handsome townhouse on a side street less than a half a mile from the docks.

Malletta is small, dense city built on steep, rocky slopes with a defiantly gridded street-plan. Buildings are typically terraced and three or four stories tall, gardens are scarce, and all but the largest thoroughfares are narrow alleys, the better to shelter from the fierce Coradian sun.

Pike’s house boasts ornate carved oak doors, and inside, along a corridor, it opens into an atrium with a fountain (a rare and expensive luxury in water-starved Malletta) and comfortable wicker chairs. Pike is bald, middle aged, and speaks with a stammer that might at first mask the fact that he is a confident man and the peak of his wealth and power. He introduces himself as a collector of antiquities; the characters may conclude that he is some kind of sorcerer. Who is to gainsay them?

Pike offers generous payment for what he acknowledges is risky work: he has in mind three treasures he wishes the gang to “acquire” over the next couple of days. For each one he will offer a silver ingot up front, and two more ingots when the job is complete. Within reason, he is open to negotiation.

The first job: The Feast of the Two Saints

The 24th of Yule-monath is the date of a great feast for the Knights Protector – the feast of the two saints (St Zacharias, the patron saint of the order, and St Stephanos). This is the only moment in the year when St Zacharias’s Cup, the most ancient and holy golden chalice of the order, is removed from their impenetrable vaults. Pike wants the party to obtain the chalice for him; he has made an approximate replica so that they can recognise the treasure in question, but they may also decide to use the replica as part of their attempt to steal the real thing.

In the early evening, the great cloister will be bustling with activity, as the knights roast several oxen (a rare treat in Malletta, where fish is a more common dish) and distribute their bounty to the city populace – at this stage the order’s chalices are displayed on a high balcony above the feast.

The hospital is a grand three-storey building that dominates the square where it stands. The chalice is visible in a brightly lit arched window on the top floor. (An open window, of course – no glass.) The building has a flat roof so it is possible the characters will try to reach it from there. The snag is that the chalice is clearly visible to the couple of hundred revellers in the courtyard below. Also (though this is not obvious from either ground level or the roof) there are two guards at the back of the chamber where the chalice is on display.

or, if you prefer the artistry of Bing:

Later in the evening – about 8pm – the grand banquet inside the hospital begins, for the knights and their most esteemed guests. The most ancient and holy chalice, St Zacharias’s Cup, is brought down to stand on high table in front of Grandmaster Aloysuis, Bishop Benedict and Inquisitor Paln. It will later be passed around high table (24 people) for each to take a sip in honour of St Zacharias, St Stephanos, and the recently-deceased Grandmaster Emeritus, Lucius, who was buried just a couple of days earlier. Since Pike is an influential man, it is possible that one member of the gang can secure an invitation as a guest of honour.

Complication: Three Marijah assassins have slipped into Malletta and plan to assassinate the grandmaster. They may interrupt the feasting, or alternatively may cross paths with members of the gang.

The second job: King’s Mass

Several masses will be held overnight at the cathedral of St Zacharias: the midnight mass or Angel’s mass, the dawn mass or Shepherd’s mass, and the mid-morning mass or Kings’ Mass.

At the King’s Mass, finest Kaikuhuran incense will be burned – it is blessed in a private ceremony in the cathedral vestry, shortly before the mass (sometime between 10am and 10.50am for the 11am mass). The incense may be unguarded at that moment but in any case must be taken after being blessed and before being burned, so there is a limited window for action.

Complication: After the heist last night there will be extra guards. Inquisitor Paln will be at the service and he is a formidable opponent with a number of potent prayers at his disposal.

The third job: The Fragrant Dead

Pike wishes the gang to visit the Necropolis, the vast network of tunnels under the city where the dead of Malletta have for centuries been buried. In one of the most honoured tombs, former grandmaster Lucius was buried three days ago. His body was wrapped in myrrh-infused cotton. Pike wants the cotton wrappings to be removed and brought to him. Broadly, there are two ways into the central Necropolis where the grandmaster is buried: the more direct route is through the cathedral undercrypt, but that may be guarded, especially if the gang have acquired a lot of heat over the previous 24 hours. An alternative is to go by way of tunnels that extend to sea cliffs just outside the city, but that involves more clambering around and there is a risk of getting lost.

The Necropolis is widely thought to be haunted. Pike gives the group a bronze flute and teaches them the three notes which, he assures them, will summon a djinn who will bear them to safety with their prize.

The Necropolis is indeed home to a creeping horror; the party will find that every shadow looms black, that hundreds of eyes reflect every sweep of their lantern or flicker of their torches. If they linger too long their will give into despair or madness – or if the black wisps of the shadow touch them, they will experience days of dehydration or weeks of starvation in a few moments. Severe mental harm (insanity, despondency) or physical harm (heart failure due to starvation) is likely if they cannot find a way out.

Complication: The djinn is, in fact, the strange stiff little servant who first met them at the docks. If the tune on the flute is played, the djinn will step from the shadows and offer to transport them all to safety. In truth, he lacks the power to transport the entire group – instead he will follow the instructions supplied by Parcelus Pike, finding an excuse to hold the myrrh-infused cloth and blinking back to Pike with the spoils. The group may expect this and prevent him by holding firmly onto him – in which case the djinn may be a reluctant but potent ally against the creeping darkness. Even the djinn, however, fears the shadow and may well be overwhelmed. In any case, the party must make their own way out.

Aftermath

If the group make their way back to Pike’s townhouse after the third heist, they will find it derelict – dusty, overgrown and apparently unoccupied for many years. Inside there is a silver balance. On one dish sits their agreed final payment; the other is empty, waiting to receive the myrrh-soaked shroud. If they try to take payment without placing the cloth on the empty dish, their hands will pass through the payment – it is insubstantial and illusory. However, if they fulfil their part of the bargain, the arms of the balance will level off and they can collect their treasure – at which point the balance and the myrrh will fade and disappear.

If the gang has been successful, they will have stolen holy treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh from the noble order of the Knights Protector. They may wonder what, in fact, Parcelus Pike plans to do with these treasures – and they may be contemplating revenge against him, if they can reach his home city of Ferromaine. They will not be the only ones contemplating revenge, and would do well to avoid the attention of Sir Marco and Inquisitor Paln in future.

Notable characters

• Parcelus Pike, collector of antiquities
• Sir Marco, grizzled veteran and captain of the guards at St Zacharias’s Hospital
• Grandmaster Aloysius of the Protectors – in late middle age, somewhat soft
• Bishop Benedict – from the Cathedral of St Zacharias, a guest of honour at the feast
• Inquisitor Paln – head of Malletta’s inquisition, thin, bony and ruthless. He is a pilgrim who can speak prayers of doleful vengeance; not to be crossed

Pike will avoid direct action, but Marco, Aloysuis, Benedict and Paln will be at both the feast and the King’s Mass the next morning. There is ample opportunity for the characters to get away with one heist but then be recognised later.

* * *

Regular readers will have guessed that the scenario is by Tim Harford, our traditional guest-referee at this time of year. Last December, pressure of work prevented Tim from running his usual pre-Christmas game, so we played this one in January instead. The balmy Mediterranean-style setting, in contrast to Tim's usual backdrop of a freezing Elleslandic winter, helped us to ease back into the seasonal spirit long after the turkey bones had been picked clean.

The game system was Tim's own Forged in Annwn, a variant on Blades in the Dark set in the Dragon Warriors world of Legend. That helped push the action in a heist-narrative direction, but any set of rules would have done as well. Dragon Warriors knaves and assassins will shine, though our party also included a hunter, a barbarian from the hinterlands of Opalar, and a man who claimed to be a knight.

If you want a soundtrack, how about Mare Nostrum (Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI) or Musique de la Grece Antique (Gregorio Paniagua) for the scene-setting in the early parts? Or I'd be inclined, seeing as it's Christmas and hence a time for low art, to go with Buddha-Bar. In our game, Tim used Atrium Carceri for the third part in the catacombs, and very creepy it was too.

Tim mentions that Malletta is modelled on Valletta, the capital of Malta. The Knights Protector are of course Legend’s version of the Hospitallers. The island is located in the southern Deorsk Ocean on the main sea routes from the Coradian lands to Outremer. For flavour it's worth looking at Rupert Thomson's novel Secrecy, though that might provide more ideas for Ferromaine than for Malletta.

If you're unfamiliar with Legend, I know of no better summary of what it's all about than this post by Joseph Manola on the Against the Wicked City blog.

Also, Tim's books make excellent Christmas presents for intelligent and enquiring readers. Find them on Amazon US, Amazon UK, or wherever you normally shop.

Bring me pine logs hither

If you're going to have a seasonal roleplaying game there's not a lot of time left. No time to plan? For that last-minute gaming session, what could be more useful than this list of Legend adventures compiled by Lee Barklam on the Cobwebbed Forest website?

If gaming is off the table, you can read write-ups of our roleplaying campaigns in two books available exclusively to Patreon backers until Twelfth Night. I talked about these books in a post a while back, and here's your chance to get hold of them. I realize it might seem a little mercenary to mention Patreon in the season of giving, but you only need to subscribe for one month and you'll not only get the two RPG write-up books but the noughth draft of the Jewelspider rules as well as my Knightmare novels and a bunch of articles and adventure scenarios set in the world of Legend.

And to go with all that, Grim Jim Desborough has the Dragon Warriors stats for a number of weird and wonderful Yule monsters on the Postmortem Games site. (While you're there, why not buy a copy of Wightchester -- the very thing M R James would have been playing on Christmas Eve if he'd known about RPGs.)

Talking of Christmas Eve, I'll see you then...

"The Three Wanderers" (a Yuletide adventure set in Legend)

A treat my gaming group have come to expect (though hopefully never take for granted) at this time of year is a new Yuletide adventure by the multifariously talented Tim Harford. With Tim's permission I share last year's with you. Without further ado, then, here is:

THE THREE WANDERERS

On a windswept ridge in the Bleaks, visible from miles around, are three huge uneven black boulders, each at least four metres in diameter. Locals call these vast stones the Three Wanderers and will not approach. They say the three were fiends who haunted the hills in olden times, murdering travellers until they picked on the wrong victim, St Afric, and he turned them to stone.

More educated folk, of whom there are few locally, scorn the superstitions but warn travellers that those boulders are tombs, and that what was buried should not be disturbed.

Anyone who does get close to the boulders will see that there are crevices in them, perhaps just wide enough for a person to squirm through. Each crevice, however, is blocked by bars of iron, rusted but sturdy, and a chain with a silver cross is attached to the bars on each of the three rocks. It is hard to make out what, if anything, lies deeper in the crevices. Characters who shine a light down them may see a glimpse of bone, or sacking. Perhaps they will see movement – a rat, perhaps, or grass snake?

What lies within? One tale describes three sorcerers from Kaikuhuru, travelling west in search of the newborn Saviour. Some say they followed a silver moon that moved through the sky contrary to the motion of other celestial bodies. Others say they used an enchanted needle, a bone splinter hanging from a strand of a princess’s hair. Whatever the truth, they were led astray by some mischievous imp, and ventured to the wilds of Ellesland instead of the holy land. Dressed for the desert, they wandered in the northern rain and hail, vainly seeking the saviour until they perished from exposure.

Far from home, vengeful and bewildered, their spirits continued to wander the Bleaks until, centuries later, a Cornumbrian saint bound them and laid them to rest in a tomb that would contain their wanderings and their parched enchantments.

Such is the tale. What, then, when the characters approach the Three Wanderers to find the silver crosses missing, and the iron bars ripped out – from the inside?

Dramatis Personae

Crespin Thune – A wizard of no great accomplishment, but with a plan to use his limited talents to acquire the three legendary gifts of the Kaikuhuran wizards, and with those to rise in prestige and power.

Beatrice – a fallen woman. Beatrice is a serving maid (and prostitute) who works at Athgeld’s Inn, a traveller’s stop running to the south of the ridge. Crespin has paid her to serve the Saviour’s mother in his little play.

Sir Thunrulf – an aging knight, lord of Beeley Manor.

His cook, Pessimus Broil, is a blubbery mountain of a man.

Martin Marigold is the innkeeper at Athgeld’s Inn. He is famous for his hospitality, although the prices can be steep, especially for the unwary.

Grauves de Courtai – an upstart knight from Chaubrette. Crespin is paying him for assistance, but has also forged a letter purportedly from Baron Aldred declaring Grauves de Courtai the new lord of Beeley Manor. Grauves has six well-armed thugs in attendance, Hubert, Gaston, Anton, Charles, Hal and Fred.

The local devil, called Hob o’ the Well by locals. Hob is nine feet tall, with spindly arms and legs; when he drops into a crouch, however, he can conceal himself into a surprisingly small space, like a spider in the corner of a web. Hob has several uncanny abilities, including the power of illusion and the power to command animals, plants and the local weather. However he is vulnerable to the cross, and his stealthiness is sometimes betrayed by a faint reek of brimstone.

Old Katy Catkin, who earns a meal and room to sleep in exchange for cleaning and other chores around the inn. She works less and less and appears to rely more and more on the charity both of Marigold and of passersby. She is the most likely source of gossip concerning Hob o’ the Well and may also share gossip about Beatrice and Crespin (who has been paying with silver for her to attend him in his room). Katy has heard Crespin bragging to Beatrice about his plans and, unlike Beatrice herself, she has enough familiarity with folk magic to recognize the makings of a spell in their act of theatre.

Crespin’s plan

Crespin plans to break the locks that keep the three wanderers bound. He hopes to lure them to Athgeld’s Inn on Christmas Eve, where Beatrice will display her “baby” – actually a ghastly little scarecrow of daub and straw, with sky blue little robin eggs of eyes. Crespin has cast a spell over the “baby” to make it appear lifelike. This deception will, he hopes, induce the three wanderers to hand over their gifts to the infant they think is the Saviour. He can then use the three gifts as potent instruments when casting future spells.

The Wanderers

The three sorcerers are long dead, but their spirits live on, carrying a thousand years of rage and frustration. If addressed in the right way, they may recall their original pilgrimage to pay homage to a new spirit of hope in the world.

Calcifer retains the desiccated spirit of the Kaikuhuran desert; if roused to anger he strikes with hot sand and lightning. His visage is swaddled in dry sackcloth.

Shazz Ul Haq has grown a new eye each year since arriving in Ellesland. He now has nine hundred and ninety five, and to glimpse them is to go mad.

Grupus has adjusted best to the climate of Ellesland. He has become a master of mist, mire, and darkness. He is the most likely to stray far from the rocks and the party may encounter him while exploring.

The gifts

Calcifer’s gift for the saviour was a small handful of sand from the desert, in a box of ivory, a symbol of the endlessly shifting sands of Kaikuhuru and of his fealty.

Shazz Ul Haq had brought an orb of diamonds, each diamond showing a different vision of what may come to pass.

Grupus’s offering was an embalming unguent in a silver pot.

These treasures lack the awesome power that Crespin imagines and craves – their significance was largely symbolic. However, they have some value both as magical talismans and as saleable treasures.

Locations

Beeley Manor – a decaying manor house with a small study, a feasting hall, kitchen and larder downstairs, and a master bedroom and three small bedrooms upstairs. The house is fortified but vulnerable either to a determined assault or to an inside job, since there is a front door, a back door and a kitchen door.

Athgeld’s Inn – a large hostelry with a generous common room, a parlour with several snugs (where Grauves and Crespin prefer to have their conversations), a sweltering kitchen and half a dozen upstairs rooms. The Inn also has outhouses, storehouses, and a stable.

Saint Afric’s chapel – a tiny chapel on the steep slope above the road and beneath the great stones that locals call the Three Wanderers. It was Saint Afric who bound the ghosts of the three sorcerers and imprisoned them in cracks in the rocks. The chapel door is jammed – rust or ice? – but may yield to force or to patient prayer. Inside, a candle flame flickers, although there is no sign of a caretaker and everything is covered with dust – it seems to have been neglected for years. A cracked fresco shows a three part scene: three great kings following a man with a crescent on a fishing rod; the same three figures with demonic visages; Saint Afric brandishing a cross, with the three figures dismayed and prostrate.

A sufficiently successful roll on intuition suggests that the paintwork around the cross is of a different quality. Chipping away at the fresco reveals a silver cross concealed within the plaster. It has, it seems, been unearthed and buried once before. A grey hair is wrapped around the join of the cross – a relic of Saint Afric himself?

Hob’s Well – locals know of the well, and water taken from it is said to have a restorative quality provided that a suitable offering of flowers or food is placed by the well, thanks are given, and implicit permission is sought by a declaration of good intent. Without those measures the water has a bad-eggs aroma and unpleasant warmth, but will do no harm.

The well is unusually tall, more like a chimney or a little tower than a well, with the lip seven feet above the ground. To draw water requires a little agility, or fashioning some kind of perch on which to stand. Looking down the well reveals a crescent moon, reflected from the heavens. What is strange is that the crescent moon is there, day and night, whether the moon in the sky is new or full.

At the bottom of the well is a loose stone, and behind it, a sack with the three ancient treasures in it. The sack, oddly, is undecayed. Anyone brave enough to dive into the water can retrieve the moon too (the permanently shining silver crescent with which Hob lured the three scholars astray) but they may have to reckon with Hob or the local fauna – perhaps a savage pike, or a plague of worms and leeches, or an irate owl, as the referee prefers.

The Wanderers - the three black boulders described in the introduction.

Timeline of events, if the party do not intervene

Grauves and his men have demanded entry to Beeley Manor and been refused by Thunrulf and his steward. Grauves claims that Baron Aldred has appointed him lord of the manor in Thulrulf’s place, and has sworn to return with a Warrant of Possession signed by the baron.

Thunrulf sends his steward to Athgeld’s Inn to discover more. The player-characters could enter the adventure either as Thunrulf’s guests or as travellers at the inn – or both.

At the inn, there is an argument between Grauves and Crespin. Crespin sends Grauves and his men up to the rocks with a promise that they will only get the letter when they’ve done their job. The party may overhear this argument, which takes place is Crespin’s room.

Grauves and his men go up to the rocks. Crespin has equipped them with an iron spearhead of ancient Selentine design, enchanted so that it can prise the silver crosses off the iron bars.

Only five of the men return, and they are in a state of terror, having encountered Shazz Ul Haq. Grauves himself is among them, having got separated from the others in the snow; thus he was spared the harrowing encounter with the ghost.

Anyone going up to the rocks now will find the iron bars have been pulled away from the inside.

Grauves presents the three crosses to Crespin as proof of his deed, claims his forged letter, and ventures out to Beeley Manor to try to claim it from Thunrulf. Other men may go missing every time they venture out in the dark.

On Christmas Eve the three magi, now at large, will close in upon the stable at Athgeld’s Inn, to meet Beatrice and Crespin and the “baby”.

Secrets that the party may discover

The Three Wanderers are ancient sorcerers from a thousand years ago.

They were led astray by Hob o’ the Well, who put a silver moon on a stick and stole their gifts.

The moon and the gifts are concealed at the bottom of Hob’s well. The silver moon might be used to lead the sorcerers away towards the holy land.

Crespin has forged a warrant declaring Grauves de Courtai the rightful lord of Beeley Manor.

Pessimus Broil plans to do away with Martin Marigold and become innkeeper (he fell out with Marigold years ago when he worked at the inn).

There is a sacred relic concealed behind the fresco of Saint Afric’s chapel. It is one way to cow the three sorcerers.

Crespin’s magic is unlikely to fool the three sorcerers, but his enchantment to give the “baby “ a semblance of life may be more potent than he anticipates, given the forces assembling at Christmas Eve.

Motivations

Sir Thunrulf wants to retain his manor and his dignity, but is also duty-bound to protect travellers through his manor from harm – including the residents of Athgeld’s Inn.

Beatrice has been promised money by Crespin but will not risk her life once danger threatens.

Crespin hopes to fool the wanderers and secure their treasures.

The Wanderers are barely sentient now; they are malevolent after their long imprisonment but may be calmed by Beatrice and the baby.

Grauves is hoping to take possession of the manor; if thwarted he is likely to try to make trouble and resort to ordinary theft and assault.

Hob o’ the Well is bent on devilish mischief (the high flavour of mischief that does not balk at causing death or lasting injury) and highly amused by the Wanderers, although there is a risk he oversteps himself. His is only a little local devil, after all, and they are mythic ghosts.

Pessimus Broil hopes to leave Thunrulf’s service and take over at the Inn, although he has not fully thought through how this will be achieved. Murder of Martin Marigold is not impossible. He might also try to strike a bargain with Grauves.

Katy Catkin likes to gossip, knows a lot, and will easily be persuaded by some coin (or perhaps flattery or even earnest curiosity). She may relate some of the legend of the Three Wanderers. She may also point out that, although abandoned, Afric’s chapel has long seemed inviolate and protected by the Saviour.

There's yet another Yule one-shot scenario over on my Patreon page. Tim's are better, I think; he always manages to weave just the right seasonal magic. Agree? Then you should take a look at his books. Perfect Christmas gifts for the thinking people in your life:

and for kids: